I have a 2008 Gen II with about 8000mi. The windshield arms inside the fairing have starting making a really bad shudder and grating noise when the arms go back down to the starting position. Tried spraying some lubricant on the slides but only seemed to make it worse. Anyone have this problem or any solutions???? Thanks. Eric

My 2009 does the same thing if I don't lube it good? I use white lithium grease and it does the trick. Make sure the lube is going in the right places using one of those little tubes on the can. Then run the shield up and down several times to get it spread evenly.

I am experiencing the same thing on my 2009 with 8800 miles. I had an opportunity to put some grease on the runners a while back from behind the fairing and it helped for the first 15 or so retractions but I am sure i wasn't able to get it everywhere I needed to. I have to take the fairing off to remove my header pipes to repair some damage thanks to a rock and will definitely be taking a better look at that point. On mine it is only the Right runner (from riders perspective) that is having the issue, the Left is fine. I have never washed the bike either (I know I know...) so I know it's not anything to do with blasting the grease out or anything like that.

Thanks for the replies. I think I will just disconnect the auto retract and forget about it. Eric

For any who might be interested, I have a 2010 which recently started doing the same thing. It first became noticeable when the windshield was retracting and now makes a grating shuttering noise whenever moved in either direction. I had my dealer attempt to spray various lubricants into the tracks (through the slots in the fairing) but nothing so far has seemed to help.As my bike is still under warranty, I've arranged an appointment (with the dealer) to have the unit disassembled (likely a half day or more work) to look for a culprit. Yamaha and dealer has warned that should the problem be road grime, it will not be covered under warranty ???!!!.Like most other things on the FJR, every effort has been made by Yamaha to make access/correction/maintenance nearly impossible.

Dale

When I die, I would like to go like my grandmother and pass peacefully in my sleep and not screaming in terror like her passengers.

Like most other things on the FJR, every effort has been made by Yamaha to make access/correction/maintenance nearly impossible.

I've found the FJR to be one of the easiest bikes to work on of any I've owned. The only one easier was my HD and that's because it was dumb-as-a-rock simple (only 2 electrical circuits in the whole bike, no fairing, etc.).

Access to the windshield drive requires removal of ALL plastic forward of the tank. You have to get the nose cowl off, but all the plastic attaches to it, or to another piece that does, so ALL the plastic has to come off. See this thread in the FAQ section for a how-to.

The rubber gaskets are usually the problem, getting tangled in the mechanism. Don't bother fixing them, just get them out and leave them out.

Darksider #18

Are you the reason I'm so far above average?I'm always right, yet it continues to surprise people! How can that be?

Access to the windshield drive requires removal of ALL plastic forward of the tank. You have to get the nose cowl off, but all the plastic attaches to it, or to another piece that does, so ALL the plastic has to come off. See this thread in the FAQ section for a how-to.

The rubber gaskets are usually the problem, getting tangled in the mechanism. Don't bother fixing them, just get them out and leave them out.

Clarification Requested:

By rubber gaskets, do you mean the rubber strips along the windshield arm slots in the fairing?As well as trying to lubricate the sliding mechanisms through the slots (nylon blocks in metal sliders), I've also tried to lube the rubbers themselves (with Fluid Film) with no success whatsoever.Perhaps you are referring to another gasket?Thanks,Dale

When I die, I would like to go like my grandmother and pass peacefully in my sleep and not screaming in terror like her passengers.

Like most other things on the FJR, every effort has been made by Yamaha to make access/correction/maintenance nearly impossible.

I've found the FJR to be one of the easiest bikes to work on of any I've owned. The only one easier was my HD and that's because it was dumb-as-a-rock simple (only 2 electrical circuits in the whole bike, no fairing, etc.).

Just our of curiosity, how long does it take you to adjust the valves or even change the spark plugs on your FJR? How long does it take to get access to the windshield motor assembly?What ever happened to the idea of simply removing a panel or cover to gain access to regular maintenance items?Ever change an oil filter on a V-Star 1100 Silverado (with the exhaust directly in front of the filter) without first having installed an oil filter relocation kit?This is what I had in mind by 'making maintenance intentionally difficult.'Dale

When I die, I would like to go like my grandmother and pass peacefully in my sleep and not screaming in terror like her passengers.

I can have sparks plugs in hand in less than 10 minutes. Oil and filter change in less than ten minutes. Valves, dunno, haven't looked at 'em yet, but the only complication is the cooling pipes that go through the valve cover, so you have to drain the coolant as part of that job, which I'm sure is annoying. I've got front brake pistons soaking in cleaner right now, changing the seals in the front calipers. Had 8 pistons in hand in about 20 minutes, another 10 or 15 to pry the old seals out. Front pad change only is maybe ten minutes, but more for a gen-II, simply because the gen-II has a pad per piston rather than a pad per caliper side.

OTOH, there are some well-known gotchas on the FJR. The centerstand bolts don't clear the exhaust, so if you have to do anything with the centerstand, the headers have to drop down. The torque arm on the rear brake doesn't clear a car tire, but there's only about 35 of us so far that care about that one. And the gotcha for this thread is that the windshield drive is under the nose cowling, around which the entire front bodywork is built. To get the cowling off, all front bodywork has to come off. Takes a while the first time, less than an hour after you've done it a couple of times.

Darksider #18

Are you the reason I'm so far above average?I'm always right, yet it continues to surprise people! How can that be?

My O7 had the same problem. It was not my windshield gaskets. When I adjusted my valves I removed the front cowling. It wasn't that hard after all the other plastic was off. At 32,000 miles I cleaned and lubed the tracks, I used dilectic grease and it helped significantly. At 52,000 miles I did the valves again. This time I cleaned and lubed the tracks with synthetic grease. I also took apart the pivot bushings and cleaned then lubed with graphite powder. It works like new now. I also have decided to only adjust the windshield at slow speed. It can't be a good thing to raise that huge Rifle shield at 80 mph. I disabled the auto-retract when the bike was new.

My 2008 has the exact same problem, rubs on the right (from driver's view) track and shudders as it goes down. I've just gotten in the habit of grabbing the windshield and pulling it left a bit when I turn the bike off so it doesn't rub. It seems the left side has PLENTY of room so if I could figure out how to shift the whole cowling over a 1/8 of an inch it might clear it up... or maybe I could bend the windshield arms to the left a bit... I can just see it now..

hmmm, lemme see... if I push really hard here then it should bend just a bit.... *snap* Oh shit...

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."You are not paranoid if They are actually out to get you, however, They probably are not and you probably are.2008 FJR1300 - 'Zoe'

Thanks Guys, after a recent 100+ 8 hour trip, I was installing my new V-stream and thought I had done something wrong because it groans like a caged animal now. from the posts, my symptom is right on time...9900 miles.
rfulcher: got a name or part number for the synthetic grease or will any do? Thanks.

My 2011 just started making this noise/shuddering last weekend with almost 12k miles. Are the rubber parts mentioned earlier in the thread visible from the front? Can they be fished out with a wire or something? This weekend I'll examine my more closely and report back what I find. Keep the comments coming. Thanks.

The rubber parts (actually a soft PVC) are all one piece and are visible from outside. The arms that support the 'shield pass through slots in the rubber. Mine detached completely so I removed the nose fairing and cleaned everything up thoroughly - detergent, copious water rinse and then isopropyl alcohol to degrease the rubber and the attachment points. Re-attached using 3M trim tape. Its held for several months since. Some people have removed the thing completely. You won't get it out in one piece but I suppose you might get it a bit at a time; cutting pieces off as you go. I prefer to have mine in place.